Letter to FinCEN and OFAC on GENIUS Act Implementation NPRM

Dear Director Gacki and Director Smith:

The American Bankers Association (ABA) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the joint notice of proposed rulemaking issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) (together, the agencies) on April 10, 2026 (the proposed rule or NPRM). The proposed rule would implement the anti-financial crime provisions of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (the GENIUS Act) by establishing a comprehensive AML/CFT and economic sanctions compliance framework for permitted payment stablecoin issuers (PPSIs).

I. Summary of the Comment

ABA supports the responsible development of payment stablecoin markets on terms that are safe, sound, and compliant with U.S. law, to ensure the integrity of the U.S. financial system. This proposal appropriately treats PPSIs as financial institutions for Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance purposes, and seeks to align PPSI compliance obligations with those of other financial institutions with analogous underlying risks. To promote the integrity of the broader payment stablecoin ecosystem, FinCEN and OFAC should also address the financial crime risks posed by secondary market payment stablecoin activities. Without greater clarity around the obligations of secondary market actors, regulated financial institutions will face challenges in assessing and managing the risks associated with payment stablecoins. Accordingly, the ABA recommends that FinCEN and OFAC clarify the applicable AML/CFT and sanctions compliance obligations of secondary market actors, either through separate rulemaking or additional guidance.

Our members are central to the payment stablecoin ecosystem—including as custodians of PPSI reserve assets and PPSI affiliates. ABA has a significant interest in ensuring that the regulatory framework established by the GENIUS Act is clear, workable, and appropriately calibrated, and that the rules designed to protect the U.S. financial system and U.S. national security are appropriately tailored, but broadly applicable across payment forms and types of financial institutions.

The proposal appropriately treats PPSIs as financial institutions for purposes of the BSA, seeks to align PPSI compliance obligations with those applicable to other regulated entities where the underlying risks are comparable, and recognizes the unique technical architecture of stablecoin issuance. However, we request the agencies address the following issues in the final rule. First, the agencies should adopt an examination framework under which all three categories of PPSIs—subsidiaries of insured depository institutions, federal qualified payment stablecoin issuers, and state qualified payment stablecoin issuers—are not only subject to equivalent BSA regulation, but examined for AML/CFT and sanctions compliance by the same federal banking agencies, ensuring equivalent compliance obligations across PPSIs and with existing regulated financial institutions.

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